Center assisting victims of rape (12/4/11)

Published: Sunday, December 04, 2011

 

 By: JENNIFER CARBONI

jcarboni@dailylocal.com

 

WEST CHESTER — While the Penn State scandal has catapulted the crime of child rape to the forefront, local officials know all too well that child rape is not a new problem.

 

During the 2010-11 fiscal year, the Crime Victims' Center of Chester County reports it assisted 384 child victims of sexual abuse and 75 adults who were abused as children but did not report the crime until adulthood. Roughly 88 percent of the victims were female.

 

The year prior, the center assisted 391 juvenile sex-abuse victims and 80 adults who were sexually abused as children but did not report the abuse until after they were 18.

 

About 91 percent of the victims were female, according to the center.

 

According to the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape:

 

One in six boys and one in four girls will be sexually assaulted before they turn 18.

 

Roughly 21 percent of Pennsylvania's child sexual abuse victims are boys.

 

The average ages when children are abused are 7 to 13.

 

At least 90 percent of the time, the victims know their attacker.

 

The Crime Victims Center assists children who have been sexually abused through one-on-one counseling and group counseling. The center also walks the children and their families through the judicial process if the alleged attackers are being prosecuted.

 

The center also works to help children understand that the abuse was not their fault.

 

"We talk about self-esteem, coping skills. We help them to process what they are feeling so they don't resort to cutting (themselves), alcohol, drugs or become promiscuous," said Gina Basciani, a counselor at the center.

 

Often, a victim will feel responsible for the abuse and carry shame and guilt, Basciani said.

 

"This gives them an opportunity to see they can get help, they can talk about it and they're not alone," she said.

 

And the center works with parents who may have difficulties coping with what happened to their child, particularly if the child's attacker was the parent's spouse or romantic partner.

 

"If parents are in a good place and healing, then the child's going to be fine," said victim advocate Brooke Hedderick. "If the parent falls apart, then the child feels responsible for what happened."

 

The center also conducts educational, outreach programs to encourage other victims to come forward and teach children signs of inappropriate behavior by adults. The center offers age-appropriate programs for students in preschool to college.

 

"For the youngest children, we teach them the difference between a good touch and a bad touch, things that gives kids an uh-oh feeling," said Courtney Winkler, a volunteer manager at the center.

 

The center teaches children that if they are in an uncomfortable situation with an adult, say no, get away and tell someone what happened.

 

Winkler said if a child reports the problem to an adult and they don't take action, the child should keep telling someone until someone listens.

 

The education programs regularly prompt children to tell someone they've been abused, Hedderick said.

 

Once, she said, a child who attended one of the center's education sessions later called the center from a pay phone to say she had been abused, Hedderick said.

 

"Often we do have children who come forward," she said.

 

Parents should also be aware of any adults who spend time with their children — particularly adults who have few fellow adult friends.

 

"If you find an adult spending a lot of time with your child and spending a lot of money on your child … it could be something sinister," Hedderick said. "Most adults prefer to spend time with other adults."

 

Often, the group says, child predators will groom their victims to gain trust before any abuse actually occurs. The grooming could be buying the child lavish gifts, taking the child to places like amusement parks or coaching a child in their favorite sport. If the predator builds a positive relationship with a child, then that child is less likely to question the abuse and less likely to report the abuse, the group said.

 

Also, victims who are abused at home at a young age may believe that what's happening in their home happens in everyone's home and they may not realize they are being abused.

 

Signs that a child may be suffering from any type of abuse include:

 

a sudden change in the child's mood or behavior, such as a very social child suddenly becoming withdrawn and isolated; self-destructive behaviors, such as cutting themselves; changes in eating habits, eating less or more than usual; or changes in sleeping patterns, sleeping less or more than usual.

 

The Crime Victims' Center has two 24-hotlines: 610-692-7420 and 610-692-7273.